Love Is the Law

Burger; 2013

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The Memories are two members of the punk band White Fang: Erik Gage and Kyle Handley, who make punchy songs about love and smoking weed. Their songs have a simplicity to them that makes it easy to imagine dozens of tracks being churned out in tape after tape. But what does it mean to be a band whose goals seem so relaxed and simple? What rubric do you use to evaluate a band who once boasted, “When she’s takin’ off my pants, I know what to do”?

You have to meet the Memories on their own turf. They made that task easy last year on their self-titled album, which had a interesting production and a strange sort of charm. Those songs weren’t elaborate or eloquent, but what “Baby (You’re Totally Crazy)” lacked in complex sentiments, it compensated with lush instrumentation. When they made overt references to smoking pot, like on “Higher” and “Took Drugs (Went Insane)”, they complemented them with an appropriately mellow and ethereal atmosphere. In the aforementioned “I Know What to Do”, there’s a Southern rock guitar solo that's warm, simple and just clicks everything into place. This stuff is meant to be uncomplicated and breezy-- AM radio gold for the slacker set. But Love Is the Law, which doesn't always stick to the beatific production of The Memories, proves that there’s a razor-thin line between sweetly simple and facepalmingly dumb.

Love Is the Law is 17 tracks long, most of which are shorter than two minutes. With this onslaught of ideas in rapid succession, it quickly reveals itself as a mixed bag. It's probably best to approach these songs with this formula in mind: Find the ratio of catchiness to cringeworthiness. Though the lyrics of "En Espanol" are rudimentary, the hook is catchy enough to latch onto and enjoy. If you're ready for a short "Star Trek: The Next Generation" goof, they've offered up the digestibly ridiculous ballad "Like Riker" (which they rhyme with "I like her").

Like any "Tim and Eric" sketch, your reaction to this album will heavily depend on what you find funny. One of the most polarizing examples of this is "You Need a Big Man", which not only features lyrics that boast about having a large penis ("a big man tough and a big man strong/ you need a big man thick and a big man long"), but also a series of air guitar riffs sung in a weirdo twang. Obviously, this track's goal is to earn some laughs, and if this is something you can find a way to laugh at after you've heard it one time, then the song's catchiness will probably win you over. But I cannot imagine a similar fate befalling "Go Down on You", another admittedly catchy minute-long ditty with the inexcusable line "I'd like a taste between your waist/ A sweet surprise between your thighs".

But then just as easily, they can call back to what made The Memories an enjoyable record in the first place. "Love Is Not a Dream", "I Remember You", and "Wasted All the Time" pack some pleasant jangling atmosphere in for tracks that evoke the kind of warmth this album often strives for. Ultimately, though, it's hard actively want to listen to most of these songs. They're bite-sized enough that they should be like candy-- fun, sugary, easy, quick. Instead, there are several tracks here that make Love Is the Law feel like a chore.

The press release for this album boasted that these tracks came from the band's memories, which means these musings on penis size, Riker, and cunnilingus are their sing-songy memoirs. It's the skeezy stoner version of using nostalgia as a lyrical hook. “We want people to hear these songs and remember their exes. We want people to remember things and smile. To remember and to savor the flavor," said Gage. And this is clearly something they intended for people to experience via a tape deck, preferably while stoned. So there's something about the Memories' Love Is the Law mission statement that doesn't fully add up. They're targeting an audience of people who stereotypically listen to music that offers escapism of some kind, whether it's through psych, prog, reggae, hip-hop, ambient, or yes, Burger Records. And while these songs can occasionally find that perfect balance of catchiness, sweetly familiar sentiments, and home-recorded charm, there a few too many lemons for this to be a record worthy of vibing out.